Silver spade ceremony marks start of work on school

The new building is being constructed next door to school’s current home on the Chapel House Estate, on the former site of Thomas Bewick Special School, which moved to a new home last year.

Pauline Dutton said: “Our last Ofsted inspection reported how high our standards were inside the classroom and it’s fantastic that the classrooms themselves will soon reach a similar standard.”

“As much as we love our current school, we’re all incredibly excited at the prospect of moving into a new one, and we’re in for a very exciting year watching our new home take shape.”

The new look school will have a large multi-purpose hall as it’s heart for sports and musical performances, including from the school’s very own 100-piece orchestra, who will also get to rehearse in a dedicated music room.

All the classrooms, kitted out with the latest educational resources, will enjoy outside teaching space, with balconies for first floor classrooms.

School grounds will also benefit from larger play areas, a multi-use games area, football pitches and a garden area with raised beds to allow pupils to grow their own vegetables growing by the pupils.

The School will be heated using an environmentally friendly woodchip biomass boiler.